"It's only a computer error."

Naomi grinned. "You're on."

With the plan for their afternoon set, the pair cheerfully walked toward the direction of the mall that was on the ship. Yet, before they could even leave the crowd of students behind them, a pair of hands gripped each of their shoulders, spurring them to turn around. Who touched them was a girl they were intimately familiar with, her sunny smile and luscious blonde hair unmistakable.

"Oh, Kay," Alisa began. "What's up?"

She laughed. "You two!"

Alisa and Naomi exchanged confused glances.

"Uh, we're not following."

"Looks like you guys missed the memo! That's alright. I'll fill you in," Kay said. She dug into her pockets and presented them with a piece of paper. Alisa grabbed and read it.

DELIVERY

From; Saunders University High School

Cargo; Cruiser Tank 'Grizzly I' w/QF 17-pounder

To; Maple High School

"You two got a delivery to make," Kay explained in case the paper failed to carry out the point. "Maple High School bought the last Grizzly we have...ah, I'm gonna miss the thing! Anywho, this'll be a job for the Airlift Division. The tank will be loaded up in the Super Galaxy early tomorrow morning, where you two will fly it back to Japan."

"Ohhh, come ooon!" Alisa groaned. "Summer vacation just started!"

Naomi didn't make a noise as she swiped the paper from Alisa and read it herself. Still, she was internally irritated.

"Why is Maple making a purchase now? Are they going to train throughout the summer?" Alisa whined.

"That's what they said over the phone. Since the nationals are gonna start not too long after the start of the new semester, they want all that time to train for it."

Alisa groaned once more. "They shouldn't even bother! A small school like themselves will only make an embarrassment of themselves, even with that Grizzly with the 17-Pounder. God-forbid they are matched against Kuromorimine. The Nishizumi sisters will make short work of them."

At this, Kay sighed and lightly tapped Alisa's cheeks repeatedly. "No, no, no, Alisa, this isn't the mindset you should have. We shouldn't discourage any school from participating in Sensha-do. Instead, we ought to be helping them gain a solid foothold in the sport so that they can then thrive in their own way."

Alisa looked like she was about to continue her argument, but a furrowed brow from Kay stopped that dead.

"Alllright," Alisa muttered.

"Cool! Hey, here's something to smile about; it's an airdrop! Don't gotta land or nothing! That'll make your jobs fast and easy."

Naomi seized on one of the uttered words. "Excuse me, but, 'your' job? Don't you mean 'our'? I mean, you're one of our flight engineers."

Kay flashed a smile at Naomi she had seen a thousand times before. One that she knew was the forewarning of a coming excuse.

"Ahhh, but I'm not the only one! I managed the sale. You do the flyin'. Sounds pretty darn fair to me."

"Right..."

"Great! Consider this your pre-pre-flight briefing," Kay turned to leave but turned right back to face then a moment later. "Almost forgot! Wheel's up by seven o'clock. You got a schedule to keep."

Kay wistfully departed. Knowingly or not, she had damped the moods that once existed between Alisa and Naomi.

"Damn..." Alisa grumbled. "Here, I thought I wouldn't have to wake up early until the next school year."